South African nose flies (Diptera, Calliphoridae, Rhiniinae): taxonomy, diversity, distribution and biology

Abstract

Background Rhiniinae (Diptera, Calliphoridae) is a taxon of nearly 400 known species, many of them termitophilous. Approximatelly 160 valid species in 16 genera are Afrotropical, with over 60 of them occurring in South Africa. The taxonomy of this group is outdated, as most studies of the South African taxa were conducted 40 to 70 years ago (mostly by Salvador Peris and Fritz Zumpt). Published information on their biology and ecology is also scarce. New information An annotated checklist of 73 species of Rhiniinae for South Africa was developed, based on the holdings of sixteen entomological collections in Africa, Europe and North America. Over 3,700 specimens were examined, revealing nine new species records for South Africa (Cosmina undulata Malloch, 1926, Isomyia cuthbertsoni (Curran, 1938), Rhyncomya botswana Zumpt, 1974, R. tristis Séguy, 1933, Stomorhina apta Curran, 1931, S.malobana (Lehrer, 2007), Thoracites kirkspriggsi Kurahashi, 2001, Th. sarcophagoides Kurahashi, 2001 and Trichoberia lanata (Villeneuve, 1920)). We propose one new combination Eurhyncomyia metzi (Zumpt, 1981) comb. nov. (= Rhyncomya metzi Zumpt, 1981)). Additionally, evidence is presented to remove Rhyncomya viduella Villeneuve, 1927 stat. rev. from synonymy with Rhyncomya cassotis (Walker, 1849). Relevant novel biological and seasonality information, historical occurrence maps and high-definition photographs for each species are compiled.